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Approach to syncope and altered mental status

Emily C MacNeill1, Sudhir Vashist

  • 1Department of Emergency Medicine, Carolinas Medical Center, Carolinas Healthcare System, 1000 Blythe Boulevard, 3rd Floor Medical Education Building, Charlotte, NC 28203, USA.

Pediatric Clinics of North America
|October 8, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Altered mental status in children is a diagnostic challenge. This guide helps practitioners identify serious causes and avoid unnecessary tests for benign conditions.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Emergency Medicine
  • Neurology
  • Clinical Toxicology

Background:

  • Altered mental status (AMS) in children presents a significant diagnostic challenge for healthcare providers.
  • Episodes can be transient or persistent, requiring careful evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe common causes of altered mental status in pediatric patients.
  • To outline a rational diagnostic and management approach for these cases.

Main Methods:

  • Review of common etiologies of pediatric altered mental status.
  • Delineation of a systematic approach to patient evaluation.

Main Results:

  • Identification of life-threatening causes of altered mental status.
  • Strategies to differentiate serious from benign conditions.

Conclusions:

  • A structured approach aids in recognizing critical diagnoses of pediatric altered mental status.
  • This approach can prevent over-investigation of less severe cases.

Keywords:
PediatricPersistent altered mental statusSeizureSyncopeTransient altered mental status

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